When I first began to explore extreme metal, I had no idea of the various “shades of grey” that seem to exist between genres of music. Thus, when a good friend introduced me to Dornenreich, I wasn’t expecting to discover a world that mixed beauty and ugliness so honestly as they did.

I also wasn’t expecting the chance to discuss this with one of the band’s founding members Eviga, not to mention how I felt about the possibility of their latest release “Flammentriebe” potentially being their last metal album ever.

--

When I heard that "Flammentriebe" was likely going to be your last album in the extreme metal vein, I must admit that it came as a bit of a shock to me; even though your more previous works were acoustic rock.

Eviga:
Actually, we said that this record possibly could be our last one based on a metal-instrumentaion. We will see what will feel like the next authentic step for Dornenreich, after all the concerts that we intend to play this and next year. Our musical approach relies on the music itself – far off any limitations of instrumentation, that is.

For instance, during our live shows we play acoustic versions of the metal songs from our albums, and also metal versions of our purely acoustic songs.

What prompted you to decide to return to a black metal-influenced style, and combine it with acoustic music for this record?

Eviga:
The answer to this is really, our universal approch to music. After the acoustic album “In Luft geritzt”, it felt right to record a contrasting album such as “Flammentriebe”; which in my perception, means that both albums gain more depth this way.

Above all, our music relies on intuition, so one can’t trace everything to conscious decisions in the end.

It certainly has been a long time since Dornenreich first came together as young men in 1996. Yet although you've matured since then it comes as striking that rather than "mellow down", your new record is perhaps the most intense release you've made - both musically and lyrically.

Eviga:
It eventually became clear to us that “Flammentriebe” would turn out to be a highly intense and dramatic metal-based album, so we really wanted it to be absolutely special.

I mean, we knew perfectly well that this album could be the last one of its kind, and that it also would mark a certain return to our band history; we simply intended to do it no other way but wholeheartedly, in all areas.

What are your thoughts on how the band has developed with time; and why you feel this sudden resurge of aggression and intensity was necessary, after your relatively much calmer albums?

Eviga:
To a certain degree, this approach needed to take shape due to the cyclic nature of everything. It felt real to record “Flammentriebe” after “In Luft geritzt”, however I am emotionally convinced that even the latter is a very powerful and energetic album. It's far from being a sort of “campfire record", which was important for us since we wanted to do an intense album with acoustic instruments, exclusively.

Besides, acoustic instruments have always played a central role in our artistic expression, and as I perceive it we managed to integrate them in an even more organic way over the years.

The fierce intensity of “Flammentriebe” firstly came from intuition, and secondly the lyrics demanded a very dramatic appearance of the album; especially when it came to the vocals.

Whereas your past works seemed to have a sense of fulfillment through personal awakening, on "Flammentriebe" there doesn't seem to be either fulfillment or even redemption - only pain and longing, met with a feeling of regret towards the end.

Eviga:
“Flammentriebe” is a deeply critical album concerning civilization, and that comprises grief and longing for change. To me, the last song unveils a retrsospective character who represents a unity between grief and joy. I would not call it regret though - in my opinion, it is actually built on a special mood that truthfully embraces the experience (in both joy and grief) of being human.

What made you decide on this route, and why did you feel that it was a fitting topic for your final "metal" album?

Eviga:
I felt that the music and the lyrics craved for screams, but I really did not want to do that merely to do justice to a certain genre.

The continuous exploitaion of planet and creature, and Mankind's continous denial of the cyclic nature of all life, is something that demands not only screams but a grasping, highly dramatic expression in my eyes. The fact that Black Metal has a very mystic, archaic and transcending aura offers a special potential for expressing critically alternative thoughts and emotions; at least that’s my view.

Another interesting point about "Flammentriebe" which sets it further apart from its predecessors, is the motif of fire  - in contrast to finding oneself in dreams or the natural world, the theme of fire (and with it ravenous greed and selfishness) runs throughout the album; leaving a stronger feeling of fear and desire in its wake.

Eviga:
The German word “trieb” is ambivalent - it means "plant sprout" and also refers to the human urge to live (eros) and die (thanatos).

To me, a plant sprout represents the source of nature as it flourishes and withers, but the human urge never gives in; exceeding everything. Therefore, the flame symbolizes human potentials and wishes, which nowadays are driven to destructive extremes. Flames offer warmth, but they can harm and destroy as well…

How important was choosing the motif this time around, as well as figuring out the emotions it invokes?

Eviga:
Similar to many former records, the title of the album was the first thing that I had in mind. As usual, it contains central thoughts and emotions of the whole album conception; so in the very beginning these key themes were clear. In turn, they also refer back to the song 'Unruhe' from our last album “In Luft geritzt”.

In what ways do you feel that this concept of self-destruction corresponds with perhaps not just your own experiences, but also the individual in today's modern society?

Eviga:
The actual theme as mentioned previously, is the search for balance between the human urge to live and the urge to die; mirrored by the natural sprouting of a plant that flourishes and withes within the cycle of life.

However, the often mentioned “man of flame” denies all cycles, and tends to drive life into perversion. Due to the fact that the overall human population of this planet build a destructive sum as it hones itself in on a continuous expansion through all areas of life; I address the human individual, whom I consider to be the centre of all possible change.

The first half of the album accuses the “man of flame” [which I carry many characteristics of, myself ], whilst the second half invokes the conscious individual who is willing to reintegrate itself into the small and large cycles of earthly life.

All of that kept me busy because I experience the potential and flaws of being human right within myself – and therefore, “Flammentriebe” is not meant to be a manifesto of moralization. Rather, it is meant to be a honest and authentic search for balance between Man and Nature, in the field of artistic expression.

In past interviews, when talking about Dornenreich's musical aims you've often said that the main interest is to explore contrasts together - in this case as with your earlier albums, the marriage between beauty and ugliness that certain "black metal" bands symbolized for you in their own music.

Eviga:
Right. In my interpretation, Black Metal can represent an artistic attempt to unite the (seemingly) dualistic characertistics of life symbolically. This way, it's able to establish both a deeply spiritual and mind-bending quality.

Consequently, we focus on combining contrasting elements such as acoustic and distorted guitars or whispers, spoken words and screams within cyclic song-structures. In each song
- which symbolizes a vital unity between each feature; these contrasts contribute to the common vision of the music itself.

By the way – the whole album reveals a cycle. Listen to the first song “Flammenmensch”, which appears to be very urging and dense; the final track “Erst deine Träne löscht den Brand” is its opposite, as it's widely open and much more balanced.

It's been a long time since the likes of Ulver and Empyrium had released their black metal based works; though in what ways do you see this idea being pursued throughout music as a whole, as well as extreme metal?

Eviga:
The early works of Ulver and Empyrium had a strong impact on my view of the possibilities and universal qualities of Black Metal, which I tried to develop over the years through our music.

Nowadays, I lack insight and overview when it comes to extreme metal, but it seems as if so called "Suicidal Black Metal" is quite dominant; and the few songs and ideas I know from all that I consider to be one-dimensional and, I have to say it - irresponsible.

It was especially the multi-dimensional approach of expression which once fascinated me with Black Metal, so Dornenreich comprises numerous dark aspects for sure. Yet in the end, it is all about the entire nature of life which we are keen to express a positive perception on; without denying either grief or the abysmal sides and levels of all things. Simply mirroring the sickness of society in a pose of total negativity is something I personally distance myself from.

To a degree, how far do you think that exploring extreme metal as an art form in itself could lead to insincere or "shallow" music being created? Currently, there's a belief that art for art's sake mostly exists to appear interesting and thought-provoking when it's not.

Eviga:
Well, l’art four l’art is fine with me. What I do dislike in art is when things appear to be one-dimensional. In spite of the fact that I am not that familiar with extreme metal currently, I simply don’t appreciate music that tries to for instance present just pure strength.

Whenever art combines strength with obvious fragility, then it really becomes strong and relevant in my mind and heart.

Ideologically, Dornenreich has always been a band devoted to the ideals of artistic integrity and passionate explorations of oneself in relation to the outside world.

Eviga:
That’s right, yes.

Since these are seen as being rather archaic values in the modern world, how do you feel that they connect with the current role of Art and Culture today; particularly within the music industry?

Eviga:
It might sound anachronistic, but I have always perceived music and artistic expression in general as something which truly has the potential to move people in a unique way. Especially when music is something that can sensitize the being to life itself, as it offers a very emotional world that relies on its own velocity and gestures.

Ensembles such as Dead Can Dance changed my way to experience the world, for one. Multi-faceted and -dimensional artistic expression manages to get across the mood or even attitude to respect and perceive life in all its forms, which is something of timeless importance for me. It seems to be rare these days, but in my opinion it is even more important that Dornenreich sticks to these values.

If you ever found yourselves in a position where you had to compromise your own personal visions for commercial gain, how far would you comply?

Eviga:
As far as art is concerned, a compromise regarding commercial goals or gains is often impossible in my eyes. If something artistic is created in order to fulfill commercial expectations, then something is wrong in my opinion. But sometimes, projects of artistic depth turn out to be a commercial success as well – and there’s nothing bad about that, I would say.

Since its very beginning in 1996, Dornenreich proved the value of unconditional expression to be its main impetus. Just take a look at our cover-artwork - it’s far from being sensational, and it was minimalist since our first album. Even the fact that I stick to my mother tongue German to express myself in the most authentic way is something that testifies to our uncompromising approach of art.

Nevertheless, it’s not meant to be elitist at all; we offer English translations of the lyrics via dornenreich.com for people who don’t know the German language and who are deeply interested in Dornenreich.

Even though you feel that the future is open-ended for all of you as a band, where would you prefer to see yourselves around the time of your next record?

Eviga:
During the last fifteen years, many things have been said, done, felt and experienced via Dornenreich. It has been a long and very adventurous journey characterized by a lot of joyful experiences and a lot of painful ones, too. When it comes to further releases, then honestly we'll have to keep things on hold for a certain amount of time.

This month, we will tour through Europe with our friends from Alcest (which will also come to London). Then we’ll headline some festivals in summer to celebrate our 15th anniversary as Dornenreich, and I deem that we’ll be busy with concerts until spring 2012.
Then we’ll see how we feel about our next move as a band, and as the three people we are.

Actually, many songs based on acoustic instruments were written during the last years, and it’s highly probable that a further Dornenreich album will focus on an acoustic instrumentation primarily. But “Flammentriebe” might stay as the last album - and if it does, then I will be pleased with it being the last Dornenreich studio-release.

Ann S. would like to thank Eviga (Jochen Stock) and Prophecy Productions for this interview.

"Flammentriebe" is available now through Prophecy.